


The ink on our skin

by Mynamesydney



Series: Random ralbert fics [4]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Friends to Lovers, Gay Newsies, Getting Together, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Romantic Soulmates, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Soulmates, slow burn if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-21 16:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13744515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mynamesydney/pseuds/Mynamesydney
Summary: Antonio learned about soulmates when he was ten.“Soulmates,” the teacher look around the room, “are like puzzle pieces. You and that person fit together perfectly, like two halves of a whole.”Antonio gazed wide-eyed at his teacher in astonishment. Someone who he was meant to be with?-Soulmate au where whatever your soulmate writes on their skin appears on yours.





	The ink on our skin

**Author's Note:**

> Some things I would like to preface before this  
> \- at the beginning when they're kids they go by their real names (Antonio/tony is race, sean is spot, and Eliasz is elmer if you didn't already know)  
> \- you can pry the headcanon that spot has vitiligo from my cold dead hands  
> \- crutchie uses forearm crutches in this  
> \- the pen thing happened to me, and it fuckin sucks  
> \- if you don't know what four square is, please look it up its like the single best recess game ever
> 
> anyway,, here's a soulmate au no one asked for. Its one of those ones where when your soulmates writes on their body you can see it. I love those. So I wrote one. Let me know if you like this and if I should post little snippets of how the other pairings found out they were soulmates bc I kinda wanna do that but if no one like this than I probably won't.
> 
> Here you go, enjoy :)

Antonio learned about soulmates when he was ten.

“Soulmates,” the teacher look around the room, “are like puzzle pieces. You and that person fit together perfectly, like two halves of a whole.”

Antonio gazed wide-eyed at his teacher in astonishment. Someone who he was meant to be with? He leaned forward on his chair a bit as he waited for her to continue. 

“At a certain age, usually when you reach around ten or eleven, you can see what your soulmate writes on their skin. Some boys and girls start to see it earlier or later. “ She explained. Antonio’s hand shot into the air. His teacher laughed a bit and called his name.

“When do you meet your soulmate ?” 

She smiled at him. “That’s hard. Some meet them when they’re a teenager. Some people don’t meet their soulmates until way later in life. Some of you may have already met yours.” At that, the whole class erupted with whispers and giggles. 

Antonio gaped at her. What if he had met his? What if he was sitting in the same room as them? 

Later that day at recess, soulmates were the buzz of his friends. His group of friends took over one of the four-square courts and set up a game.

“I hope mines cute,” Eliasz said from his position in king, “And I hope they like Star Wars.” He bounced the ball hard at JoJo, who immediately threw it in Sean’s direction. 

“I hope mine likes Pokemon.” JoJo yelped from queen as he passed the ball.

“Yeah, I hope mine is a boy,” Sean scrunched up his nose, “girls are weird.”  Receiving hums of agreement from the rest of the boys, he lobbed the ball from his spot in jack at Romeo. He reached for it as it bounced on the line and out of reach. 

“I hope mine plays four-square fairly.” Romeo grumbled as he moved out of baby and to the back of the line of boys. Race snickered as he moved into baby. JoJo ran to get the ball then threw it to Eliasz. When he returned, he took his place back in queen. 

“What ‘bout you Tony?” Jack asked from his place in line behind David and Finch. Antonio thought for a second. What did he want his soulmate to be like? Did he want them to play sports? Or dance like him? What about games like Zelda and Mario? A dull smack pulled him off his train of thought. He rubbed his cheek where the ball had hit him, and Eliasz looked at him with a guilty expression. He picked up the ball and tossed it back as he walked to the back of the line. Finch took his place and the game resumed. Antonio became lost in thought again. 

What was his soulmate going to be like?

-

Antonio was thirteen when the ink appeared for the first time.

He was sitting in his room working on some math equation when a tiny star appeared by his left pinkie finger. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but when he turned to find his calculator he caught a quick glance of it. He scrambled to find a pen, sweeping all of his homework off his desk in the process. After scribbling the word  _ Hey  _ on his arm, he ran out of his room. Stumbling into the kitchen, he ran up to his Aunt and grabbed her arm. 

“Auntie, Auntie look! Look it happened! It’s just a tiny star but look it’s there!” he babbled, while jumping up and down. His aunt smiled fondly at him and placed a hand on top of her nephew’s head. 

“That’s great!” She squeezed him into a hug, ruffling his hair. He hugged her back and then released her. Scampering back to his room, he shifted his eyes back to the tiny symbol. Another few stars had appeared by it, but nothing next to the  _ Hey  _ he had written. He shrugged it off, figuring his soulmate either hadn’t seen it yet or the ink hadn’t appeared on their arm. He scooped his homework off the floor and got back to work. He tried to concentrate on the math on front of him, but the thought of his soulmate gnawed at the back of his brain. 

Over the next few months, small doodles came and went. Tony always doodled back, or tried to write something. He never got a reply. 

-

Antonio was fifteen and in his sophomore year when the first sign his soulmate knew he existed arose. 

It had been two years since the first time he saw the ink, and he still hasn’t gotten a reply. He was starting to worry if maybe he was being ignored. Pushing it to the back of his mind, he turned his focus to his science teacher. He brought the end of his pen to his mouth, idly chewing on the end of it. Maybe he was too annoying trying to talk to his soulmate. Maybe his soulmate was just rude. He hoped not. Too engrossed in his own thoughts to notice the ink flowing out of his pen, it dropped steadily onto his notes. FInally snapping out of his daze after feeling a wet sensation on his hand, he looked down. Quickly realizing he had chewed through his pen, he shot his hand into the air.

“Sir? My pen exploded.” Slowly turning around, his teacher looked at him incredulously.

“And how did this happen?”

“I, uh, was chewing on it.”  Anthony felt his face turn red. His teacher sighed and waved him out, a sign to go and wash it off. He stood up hurriedly and left the classroom, swiftly walking to the nearest bathroom. He pushed open the door and tried not to get ink all over it. Swiping his hand under the faucet, he noticed what looked liked a few words scribbled on his wrist. Looking harder, he saw a sentence. 

 

_ What the hell?  _

 

Antonio gasped. When had that happened? He rapidly scrubbed at the ink staining his hands and chin. He barely dried his hands before hurrying back to class. Taking out a different pen, he wrote back.

_ You can see it? _

He tapped his foot anxiously, waiting for a reply.

_ Yeah what did you do _

_ I was chewing my pen in class and it exploded  _

_ Wow you’re so smart _

Tony snorted at the reply. His soulmate and him talked back and forth for the rest of the period until the bell rang. Grabbing his things and shoving his pen into his pencil case, he rushed out of the room to lunch. He quickly found his friends and plopped down next to JoJo at the table. 

“Guys look,” Tony held out his arm, “my soulmate knows I exist!” 

“Dude, congrats. When did that happen?” Sean, now referred to as Spot because of his vitiligo, questioned. 

“Yeah, you’ve been waiting for this since forever.” Crutchie, a boy they had befriended in their freshman year, piped up. Race shot him a friendly glare and pulled his arm back.

“I was chewing on my pen in science and it exploded. When I went to the bathroom to wash it off, I saw it.” He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. He heard a muffled giggle and he turned to see Jack and Davey snickering behind their hands. Mush, who was previously in a conversation with Romeo, had paused to let out a snort. Eliasz (now nicknamed Elmer because of how he got his hands stuck together with glue) threw a grape at Mush’s head and turned back to Antonio. 

“Do you know their name? Or age?” Antonio thought for a second, trying to recall if at some point over the years any of that information had slipped.

“No I don’t think so, I just know they’re sarcastic.” Elmer hummed and popped some grapes into his mouth. JoJo nudged Tony with his elbow.

“Well, at least you know they don’t hate you,” JoJo shrugged, “right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

The rest of the day went pretty uneventfully. Doodles and small conversations were thrown back and forth between Antonio and his soulmate.

-

Antonio was sixteen when the first person in his group found their soulmate. 

Romeo had found out the boy, Specs, was in his english class. Race had clapped him on the back, albeit a little disappointed he hadn't found his yet, and congratulated him. 

Racetrack. Race. That’s what they called him now, after they found out how fast the boy could run. He didn’t mind it. All his friends had nicknames. It became tradition that everyone in his friend group had one, even if they weren’t always called by it. So when Romeo introduced his soulmate, everyone immediately agreed on the nickname of Specs because of the glasses that sat on the boys face. Specs clicked with everyone instantly and quickly became a part of their group. 

Mush was next. His soulmate was a boy who called himself Kid Blink. He lived across the bridge in Brooklyn. Race had cheerfully congratulated Mush, though he was still upset he didn’t have a clue to who his was. When Blink came to visit, he fit right in. He crossed the bridge to go to Manhattan as often as he could. Race was sad that his friend’s soulmate lived a bit far, but hey, at least he knew who his soulmate was.

Jack, Crutchie, and Davey were all surprised to find out they were soulmates. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to have more than one soulmate, but Race didn’t know many people like that. The three of them fit well together.

In the following months, Race tried to find out more about his soulmate. He already knew basic things. Like he knew that his soulmate was a boy, and that they were the same age. Race also knew that he played baseball and enjoyed listening to Musicals. He found out that his soulmate live in New York and that he lived in Manhattan (Race would deny the noise that came out of his mouth when he found this out until the day he dies). 

He still didn’t know his name.

-

Race was seventeen when  _ he  _ moved into town. 

His name was Albert. He had red hair and dimples in both cheeks.

Race and Albert became best friends instantaneously. He moved to Race’s school in his senior year. They were attached at the hip.

Racetrack grew to like him more than a friend.

He felt guilty about liking someone other than his soulmate. Was it okay? He didn’t know. He knew people that had dated for fun before meeting their soulmates, like Spot and Elmer. They dated other people before they found out they were soulmates over the summer.

Race and Albert had two classes together; pre-calc and english. Not everyone in their group had lunch together this year, like the previous year. Davey, Mush, Finch, and Elmer had lunch with him. Everyone else was in a different lunch. Race a little disappointed that he didn’t have lunch with all his friends, but it gave him a little time to talk to his soulmate. They welcomed other new people into their group that year. A girl named Katherine, who soon came to find out her soulmate was Davey’s older sister Sarah. 

Despite all of their hectic schedules, they still managed to get together at a weekly movie night every friday. The tradition had started early in their junior year, where every friday they would get together at someone’s house and watch a movie and eat junk food.

Race plopped down on the couch in his living room. It was his turn to host the movie night. His aunt was out, so he had volunteered. He had a bunch of snacks set out, and was waiting for his friends to arrive. He grabbed a pen off of the coffee table and pulled up the sleeve of his hoodie. Uncapping the pen, he scrawled a  _ Hey how are you?  _ on his arm. His soulmate was quick to respond with  _ Good wbu. _

They wrote back and forth for a bit. At the sound of a knock on the door, Race scribbled a goodbye and stood up. He made his way over to the door, opening it to find Albert.

“Hey bro!” Albert pulled race in for a hug. He eagerly reciprocated, then pulled back so Albert could step inside. Albert toed his shoes off and Race led him into the living room. 

“You know the drill. You’re lucky you got here first because people always fight over seats at my house.” Race told him. He knew Albert had been to movie night at others houses, but not at his yet. Race was known to have the most comfortable seating, so when people came over the open seats went quickly. More people started to arrive soon after Albert. Elmer and Spot arrived next. Then Mush and Blink, Davey and Sarah, Jack, Crutchie, Finch, JoJo, Katherine, and finally Specs and Romeo. They all piled themselves into Race’s living room. 

“Okay, what movie do we want?” Race asked holding up several selections. A few mumbles were heard, and after a vote, high school musical 2 won. Race slipped the disc into the movie player, turned off the lights, and sat down in his spot next to Albert. The others started to pair off as well. Blink and Mush squished themselves onto the recliner. Jack, Crutchie, and Davey sat in a huddle on the couch. Sarah and Katherine sat on the other side of the couch. Spot sat in between Elmer’s legs on the ground, Elmer resting his back against the couch. Finch and JoJo were sat on the floor by each other, quietly conversing. Specs and Romeo had made themselves comfortable on the floor with Romeo’s head in his boyfriends lap. Race and Albert were sat on the loveseat, Albert’s feet resting on Race’s legs. 

As the movie progressed, Race found himself stealing glances at the redheaded boy. Albert had wrapped himself up into a blanket burrito, and was munching on a bag of Fritos. Race hated Fritos, but knew Albert liked them so he bought a bag. He may have tried a  _ little  _ to hard to clean the house because he knew Albert was coming, but no one had to know that. 

He must have zoned out, because soon Albert was nudging his arm with his foot. Albert gave him a questioning look, but Race just waved him off. Race could feel his face heating up and prayed that it was to dark for his friend to tell. He felt Albert shift his legs and the weight on his lap was gone. He glanced at the redhead out of the corner of his eye and saw him sit up on the loveseat. Race felt a poke on his leg and turned to see Albert holding up part of the blanket, a silent invitation for Race to join him. He hesitated for a second before scooting toward Albert. He felt Albert throw the blanket over him and he relaxed into the loveseat. They stayed like that for the rest of the movie, Race occasionally sneaking glances at his best friend. He was surprised Albert couldn’t hear his heart beating with how hard it was pounding in Race’s chest. It wasn’t like they were pressed together or anything. The place where their thighs touched under the blanket and their shoulders brushed wouldn't exactly be considered cuddling. Still, the contact was enough to 

At the movies end, those who had to leave went their separate ways. Only Albert, Elmer, Spot, and JoJo could stay overnight. Elmer and Spot picked themselves off the floor and plopped onto the couch, Elmer with his head on Spot’s chest. JoJo pulled himself onto the recliner and immediately passed out. The two remaining boys trudged to Race’s room. Race pulled out a futon from his closet, along with some extra blankets and pillows. Albert laid the futon out as Race went to the bathroom. 

Shutting the door to the bathroom, Race let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He turned on the faucet and splashed water in his face. Grabbing his toothbrush, he squeezed some toothpaste onto it and stuck it in his mouth. Brushing his teeth, Race thought about his situation. He had basically just cuddled with his best friend on the couch for around an hour. He spit out the toothpaste and rinsed his mouth. He walked back to his bedroom. Albert was laying on the futon on his phone. Shirtless. Race pretended not to notice and could feel his face flush.  Climbing into bed, he plugged his phone in and set it on the nightstand.

“Night Albie.” He muttered.

“Goodnight Racer.”

Race fell asleep thinking of his best friend, but no one needed to know that.

-

Race was nearly twenty when he moved in with him.

Albert and Race had needed a place to stay. They had discussed getting an apartment when they were in college, and had stayed true to the agreement. After saving up for months, plus a little help from Race’s aunt, they moved into a small apartment right off of the campus. 

Living with Albert was… fun. Race had known that when he made the decision to move in with his crush that it would a little torturous. What Race had not expected was how  _ agonizing _ it would be. He’d lost count of how many times he’d seen Albert walking around with sweatpants slung low on his hips and mussed hair. Or how many times he’d seen Albert wearing a t-shirt that was definitely way to big, that hung low on his neck and showed his collar bones. 

Race also found out how often Albert talked to his soulmate. He would catch a glimpse of the ink on his best friends body every so often. He could never tell what it said, but he knew that they talked.

Albert had come home from class one day, and Race had made them lunch. Albert had come home and chucked his bag on the table and sat down, putting his head in his hands. Race placed a plate of food in front of the redhead, who raised his head and gave Race thankful look. He sat down across from him at the table and tucked into his own food. They made small chat about random stuff, and somehow the topic had turned to soulmates. 

“Do you talk to yours?” Albert had asked through a mouthful of sandwich. 

“My what?” Race frowned.

“Your soulmate,” Albert cocked an eyebrow, “you have one right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I talk to him when I can.”

“He’s a guy?”

Race swallowed. “Yeah.”

“Cool. Same.” Albert took another bite of his food.

“Do you like him?” Race queried. Albert looked up from his plate.

“I mean yeah. He seems pretty great to me. I know I’ll love him when I meet him. He lives in Manhattan.”  

Race couldn’t help the pang of  he felt when he heard Albert say that. He knew that Albert didn’t like him like that, but he still was crestfallen at the notion. 

“Mine lives in Manhattan too,” Race tried to hide the disappointment in his voice, “I don’t know his name but he’s the same age as us. I think he thinks I’m annoying sometime.”

Albert snorted and finished up his lunch. Race shoved the final bit of his sandwich in his mouth and followed Albert to the sink. They placed their plates in the sink and went their separate ways into their rooms.

Race  snatched a pen off of his floor when he got to his room and clicked it. He scribbled  _ Im sad right now, cheer me up _ on his hand and waited for a reply. A few minutes later, a small smiley face with a little heart appeared next to the words  _ Im sorry _ .

Race smiled a little at that. Even though he didn’t know him, he concluded that his soulmate was pretty damn cute.

-

Race was twenty one when he found his soulmate.

Him and Albert had been telling each other about their soulmates. Neither of them new their soulmates names, but they were okay with that. They still lived together and Race still liked Albert. 

Race had had a long morning. He hadn't gone to bed until four because of a paper due the next morning by eight am. He was then woken up at seven for his eight am lecture, for which the aforementioned paper was due, and was late because the road he usually walked on was closed. He had run into someone on the way to class, and said person had spilled hot coffee down the front of him. Sitting down with a huff next to Finch in class, he put his head down on the desk. Finch gave him a questioning look, and Race could feel him staring at him. 

“Bad mornin’.” He mumbled through the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Finch patted him of the shoulder sympathetically. Race lifted his head up and pulled a pen out of his pocket. Rolling up the sleeve of his sweatshirt, he jotted down  _ Holy shit _ on his arm. His reply came soon,  _ What???  _ appeared on below Race’s righting. 

_ I’m having the worst fucking morning _

_ What happened?  _

_ Went to bed late, woke up early, was late to class, and had coffee spilled on me _

_ Shit, im sorry _

Race felt a little better after his small conversation. His class flew by quickly, and his next class wasn’t until one.  He wanted to get home as fast as possible and change out of his sticky clothes. He practically ran back to his apartment, wanting to just collapse in bed. He fumbled with the keys, but managed to unlock the door. Albert was sitting on the couch, and Race only heard him say hey before he ran off to his room. Slipping out of his coffee-stained shirt, he threw on an old one. Walking back out into the living room, he grabbed the blanket off of Albert. Race flopped down on the couch and groaned loudly. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Albert asked him.

“I’ve had the worst fucking morning. I went to bed super late, woke up super early, was late to class, and some asshole spilled coffee all over me.” He grunted. Race turned to face Albert. He expected to see his best friend laughing, but instead Albert looked baffled. 

“Race, give me your arm.”

“What?”

“Your arm. Give me your arm.” Albert demanded, lunging across the couch. Race only had a split second to prepare before his friend seized his arm. He pulled his arm out from under the blanket and grasped it in front of his face. Race looked at his friend confused until Albert rolled up his sleeve. Race gasped. Race moved his arm next to his best friends. 

They had the same conversation scrawled across the skin.

Race stared in awe. He read over the words 3, 4 times. He couldn’t believe it. Race lifted his head to make eye contact with his friend.

His soulmate.

“Albert, did you know about this?” Albert looked at him in disbelief.

“No, did you?”

Race shook his head. He skimmed his fingers over Albert’s arm. Race looked at Albert, who was still looking at their arms, and brought his other hand up to Albert’s face. He lifted his chin up, stroking his thumb over Albert’s cheek bone. Race wasn’t sure who closed the gap between them.

Albert’s lips were warm against his, albeit a little chapped. Race gasped into the kiss and moved his lips softly against Albert’s. Kissing Albert was like being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket that had just come out of the dryer. It was like eating a fresh baked, gooey chocolate chip cookie. It was like hot tea with honey. Race couldn’t get enough of it. It felt  _ right _ . He gently threw a leg over Albert and climbed atop him. Careful not to break the kiss, he straddled Albert. Race felt Albert’s hands on his hips. As they pulled apart, Race sucked in breath. Albert laughed at him. 

“You know you can breath through your nose, right Racer?” Race felt his face get hot.

“I, uh, kinda forgot how to breath.” Albert grinned and kissed him on the nose. Race’s heart melted at the gesture. Race climbed off Albert’s lap and motioned for Albert to lay back on the couch. Race situated himself on top on Albert and Albert let out a little “oof” as Race plopped down on him. Race rested his head on his friends (boyfriends?) chest. He felt Albert move a hand to play with his curls, and Albert’s other hand moved to rest on the small of his back. The blond hummed in contentment when Albert started to rub his thumb up and down his spine. After a few minutes, he felt Albert’s breathing even out and his hand still on his back. Race let his eyes slip closed, only one thing on his mind.

He was astonished, almost in disbelief. But most of all he was one thing.

 

He was happy.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this!! thanks for reading <3


End file.
